An analogue brain in a digital domain

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Hi there.

I’m Michael Downey, and I’m the director of community for the Digital Impact Alliance at the United Nations Foundation, an group of technology and international development experts that believes that when we achieve a digital society that serves everyone, we have the potential to improve the lives of millions of vulnerable people around the world.

My introduction to computer technology came back in 1987, when my parents purchased a Tandy 1000 EX. Since then, I’ve been actively involved in computers and online technology. I was a system operator (sysop) for the Indianapolis-based Traders’ Connection (TCON) bulletin board system (BBS), in some ways a predecessor to the Internet as we know it today. TCON eventually became one of the first dial-up internet services providers in the region.

I received two undergraduate degrees from Purdue University, majoring in electrical engineering technology and computer engineering technology. In 2000, I started a career in IT, working for not only Fortune 500 and Global 500 corporations, but also as an industry consultant for small and large projects.